Game 37: Miami 92, Warriors 75

During a third-quarter timeout Wednesday night, Warriors assistant coach Pete Myers stepped onto the court and appeared to be counting his players as they returned to the bench.

Maybe he was double-checking to see if they were playing with the same number of guys as the Miami Heat.

By all accounts, the Warriors were using five players, but they were missing their most important one: Stephen Curry.

Plus, Miami’s talent and athleticism made it appear as though they had at least a one-man advantage for portions of the 92-75 thrashing in front of a national TV audience and the ninth consecutive sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors (23-14) have officially hit their first major speed bump of the season, having lost four of their past five games. Now, they’re dealing with the possibility of playing without Curry for an extended period.

The team’s point guard, who was already nursing a hyper-extended right knee from Sunday’s game, missed Wednesday’s game after re-injuring his twice surgically repaired right ankle at the morning shootaround.

He was chasing a loose ball during a shell drill when he stepped on the foot of center Festus Ezeli and immediately slumped over in pain. The Warriors said X-rays on Curry’s ankle were negative, and the point guard will return “based on his progress.”

“It was really a freak injury,” Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said. “We will shut him down. He’ll get treatment, and we’ll see where he goes. … I’m not a doctor, but I can’t imagine it turning into something more. I’m not going to get into timetables and all of that. We’re not concerned.”

Maybe they should be. The Warriors didn’t look like they could handle even a minute without their floor general.

After surgeries each of the past two offseasons, Curry hadn’t missed a game this season. The first time he was absent, the team had more turnovers (21) than assists (17) and set new levels in futility for points, field goals (29) and fastbreak points (5).

Jarrett Jack started in Curry’s place and had two of his five turnovers in the opening 31 seconds. The Warriors never went longer than 6:42 without committing at least one turnover, and Miami turned the gaffes into 22 points.

It was just what Miami, which led by as many as 34 points, needed. The Heat (25-12) had lost three of their past four games and came into Oakland having to deal with questions about the fourth-quarter benching of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem in Monday’s loss.

Miami didn’t mess from the get-go, skipping the high-five lines during pregame introductions and reporting directly to a huddle around coach Erik Spoelstra. While the Warriors were dancing to their own introductory music, James and Wade took their positions on the court and waited in the dark.

James, who finished with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, did whatever he wanted and secured scoring and passing milestones before getting to rest for the final quarter. His second assist of the game and the 5,000th of his career came with 6:42 remaining in the first quarter when he found a cutting Wade for an easy dunk.

James had attempted only one shot – finishing a halfcourt alley-oop pass from Wade – until that point, but turned his attention to scoring from there. A one-handed floater in the lane with 2:45 remaining in the first half made James the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points.